Clouds Above and Worlds Away
by Shyrstyne
Summary: When he created the younglings, not even Wheeljack knew how important little Bumblebee would be to the survival of the Autobots. AU-Verse. Bits&Pieces writing style.
1. The Project

Chapter 1

Ratchet slumped in his chair, cube in hand, and sighed loudly. Wheeljack looked across the table to his friend with ill-disguised apprehension.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you would be in if I decided to report this?"

Wheeljack did not look shamed. Instead, his response was to become firm in his countenance.

"Yeah I know. But I also know how you are, Ratch. You won't tell anyone."

Ratchet nursed his cube, his features solemn. He looked tired.

"No, I won't. You're right." He answered finally.

Wheeljack smiled beneath his mask. Head fins lit in a light blue glow.

"You also know how science works. I don't know about you, but I'd hate to present the council with something that doesn't work."

Ratchet waved his cube at Wheeljack, accentuating his words. "What, you didn't think to explain that to them when they told you 'no testing?'"

"I did actually." Wheeljack became slightly defensive. "You know how the council is. If it were any other project, I probably would have even listened, and told them afterwards that maybe I should have been allowed to test it first to make sure it worked."

Ratchet sighed again. Wheeljack was immediately distracted from his tirade to again worry for his friend. He seemed so tired- like the war was sucking the life right out of him. What scared the engineer was how little it felt like he could do for his friend.

"But it's not that kind of project, huh 'Jack?"

Fins swung from side to side with a shake of his head. "No. This is more than just some experiment. I have to make sure this works. This is the survival of our whole species."

Ratchet nodded solemnly.

xXx

"State your name."

Blue optics came on slowly. Too slowly. Wheeljack tried to quell his growing apprehension.

"State your name, young one." He said again as he got no answer. 'Please' he thought with a hint of desperation 'Please let this one live.'

The sparkling twitched a little, and then turned it's head to Wheeljack.

"Me… Me Grimlock."

Wheeljack's immediate relief warred with worry at how the young one spoke.

But at least it lived. He could work with that.

xXx

"What you Wheeljack doing?" Grimlock asked, shoving at Wheeljack's arms and poking his nose into the adult mechs current project. Pulling up what patience he could, the inventor pushed Grimlock away from the sensitive wires and plating, enough to keep the parts out of Grimlock's reach, but not so far that the mini-mech would feel insulted.

Already much larger than the average sparkling, indicating the need for a very large form once he was fully upgraded, Grimlock liked to throw his weight around. This was evidenced by the play fighting with his younger brothers, where sometimes he would bring the two back to the engineer to fix up the various scrapes and dents incurred therein.

"I'm attempting to build a hyper-conducive ion particle relay to more efficiently partition the energy in our power grid. It's a side project until I'm ready to continue working on your next brother."

"So you doing nothing then." Grimlock stated like it was fact. Grabbing Wheeljack's arm, he began tugging the engineer from the room. "You come play with us bitlings now. We play hide and seeker."

"But Grimlock, I-"

"You get him Wheeljack to play?" Sludge's excited voice rang out, and Wheeljack looked upon the other two younglings, both looking up at him in (in one case, barely disguised) hope. Wheeljack's felt his resolve waver.

Sludge came up and took to tugging the engineer's free arm. "We start in common room, but whole base is part of game. We hide anywhere! You Wheeljack want to count first?"

"Ah, okay." And then that resolve evaporated like so many unbound particles. "Now, or…?"

"Now!" Grimlock commanded, and as Wheeljack shuttered his optics his spark was warmed by the image of the three botlings scattering as they giggled in glee like the younglings they were.

Work could wait for a cycle. It's not like anyone would notice.

xXx

He looked down at the small frame. This was his last chance to get this right. He wouldn't have any more chances after this. Even now there was a huge risk that someone might notice the missing parts used to make the sparklings. And if someone noticed there would be an inquiry, which would discreetly show up on base one day, and then proceed to confiscate his much beloved sparks. The Dinobots would be taken to Cybertron, the Core planet, or possibly to Iacon, Autobot headquarters and the planet with the current largest populus, where they would be assessed. The assessment would go one of two ways- there could be an attempted rehabilitation cycle, followed by deep scanning and possible surgery to find out what was wrong, or they would be written off entirely as glitched sparks.

He didn't think he could bear to see that happen to them.

It was best if they were kept here.

He still wasn't entirely sure what had caused the Dinobot's strange thought patterns- or what had made them choose beast-style alt forms. He had his suspicions, which he had done his level best to help, but in all reality he had no idea. He could only hope this one would work.

He couldn't continue to scavenge spare parts out of the supplies he was given. It would not take much more before someone noticed and sent a team to check up on him. A team that wasn't just Ratchet looking for any excuse to get away from war and bureaucracy.

He looked down at the small shell, and prayed to Primus himself.

"Please let this work."

xXx

All five of them fidgeted nervously in their seats. Swoop, the youngest of the group, was the most excited. He was the only one not to have gone through the ordeal before, and was eager to experience being an older brother, instead of just the youngest.

The doorway to Wheeljack's workshop was closed, citing a need for quiet and an undisturbed peace while he was working, and while the newest spark grew acclimated with its new body and surroundings. The brothers had to wait until the newest sparkling was ready. Grimlock, in his newly upgraded form, was warned especially to watch his strength and manners, as the new spark was far more susceptible to damage than any of his other brothers. Grimlock wasn't exactly sure what susceptible meant, but he got the general idea. Be careful with his new brother.

The door slid open, and the five all sat up from their seats, trying to get the best view of the new addition to their growing family.

"Alright you guys, calm down. Grimlock, Slag, Sludge, Swoop, Snarl, this is Bumblebee. Bumblebee, these are your brothers."

Shyly, the little yellow sparkling gave a small wave. He was verily swept away not moments later by five very excited Dinobots.

Wheeljack smiled beneath his mask.

xXx

"Wheeljack?" Bumblebee poked his head in through the doorway. He felt rather silly actually. Wheeljack's work was important, and his needs, well, weren't. Even if he was worried, he shouldn't be taking up Jack's time like this.

Wheeljack looked up from whatever he was working on, turning off a small welder as he did so.

"Yes, Bumblebee?" He answered cheerfully, lighting up the dark room as he did.

Bee fidgeted a little. Why would Wheeljack know where his brother's were anyways? He spends all his time in his lab for Primus' sake!

"Do.. Do you know where the Dinobot's are? I can't find them." He said finally. Wheeljack stood a little straighter, and the smallest hint of worry flitted over his features. The Dinobot's weren't ever not around. They were always poking their noses in awkward places, creating a ruckus and generally making nuisances of themselves.

"No, I haven't. Are you sure you've looked everywhere?" Bumblebee paused again, making double sure that he had indeed checked all the Dinobot's usual haunts. He nodded.

"Yeah, I checked everywhere." He confirmed.

Wheeljack set his tools down with finality, worry now firmly set on his features, and began to move towards the exit.

"Was the door outside open?" He questioned. Bumblebee shook his head.

"No, or at least, it wasn't when I went past it." The door was there for their safety. They weren't supposed to be outside it, but the Dinobot's sometimes didn't understand that.

"Are you sure you didn't just miss them?" Wheeljack pressed. They were walking, quite quickly, down one of the complex's many hallways.

"I.. I'm pretty sure." Bee stammered. Wheeljack's audio indicator's glowed a steady, but pale and hardly visible orange. He was worried, but not too much yet.

But even that was bad. Wheeljack never worried.

And Bee felt awful for bringing him that worry.

xXx

"Wheeljack was worried about you today."

"Him Wheeljack need to loosen up."

"What were you doing outside, anyways?"

"Wanted to explore. Him Snarl say 'wonder what outside?' so we Dinobot's go see."

"… And?"

"What 'and'?"

"What was it like outside?"

"Like inside, but dirty, and ceiling go on forever. Ceiling have tiny dots all over. Not very interesting."

"Ah, those must be stars."

"Really? Did not look like planets or stars to me Grimlock."

"That's because they're far away, remember?"

"Hm. Tiny Planets and Stars. Must have very tiny robots to live on planet that small."

"Sure Grimlock. Whatever you say."

xXx

Jet engines rumbled overhead, close enough and loud enough that the very walls and floor trembled from the sound. Both Wheeljack and Ratchet visibly tensed at the noise. The Dinobots and Bumblebee quieted, but they did not understand the significance of the cacophony.

They stayed that way until the noise faded into a dim rumble, and then whittled into nothing at all. Wheeljack relaxed first, followed shortly after by Ratchet. The group younglings crowded in the room with them regarded the two curiously.

"What was that?" Bumblebee spoke first, voicing his thoughts first. The others nodded in agreement. Ratchet sighed.

"That was the sound of seekers. They're fliers, and most of them are Decepticons." He looked up at 'Jack. "They were awful close- do you think they might suspect something?"

Wheeljack's vocal indicators glowed consideringly. "It's possible, but it could also be just coincidence. Seekers aren't exactly known for sticking strictly to their patrol routes. I don't want to have to move everything to another location and risk discovery by both the seekers and the high council." He spared a glance at his gathered creations at the second part. Ratchet grunted.

"'Spose." He said shortly. "Just don't get you and them killed, hear me 'Jack?"

Wheeljack smiled at his friend.

"Of course Ratchet."


	2. Getting What You Want

Tads of foreshadowing, a smidge of angst, some more fluff. We hit plot next chapter. Enjoy.

* **Chapter 2: Getting What You Want**

"What are you doing?"

Ratchet looked up at the tiny, obviously curious voice. He gestured for the youngling to come closer before picking him up and setting him on the table he was working at. He pointed to the mess of parts.

"I'm doing maintenance on 'jack's medical supplies. I do it for him whenever I'm here because he hardly has time to do it himself."

"Oh." Bumblebee said. He pointed to one piece. "What's that?"

"Welding Torch."

"Oh. And that?" 'Bee reached out to pick it up.

"Don't touch that. It's sensitive." Ratchet reprimanded. The youngling withdrew his servo.

"What's it for?"

"It's for repairing damaged nueral networks."

"Like in our brain-pans?" Ratchet nodded.

"Yes. It's very finite work, so it requires a very sensitive tool." Ratchet eyed the tool considerately. "I don't know why Jack even has one- I don't think he could use it. He's only got basic med-training."

Bumblebee was only half listening to the second part.

"Head injuries are dangerous, right?"

"They can be. It can kill you if it's bad enough." Ratchet replied frankly. Bumblebee's optics grew wide.

"But it won't right?" Bee looked up at the other bot pleadingly. Ratchet grimaced, torn between reassuring the youngling, and laying out the facts, as he knew them.

Ratchet, being Ratchet, went with option two.

"Head injuries happen." He said with finality that yes, sometimes bad things just did that sometimes, and there wasn't anything you could do about it. "Usually, they're as fixable as an arm or a leg, so long as it isn't too heavily damaged.. But once they start to stutter, there's about twenty-five nanoclick's to get 'em stabilized before it's too late."

"What should I do if- if that happens?"

"If you haven't got the tools and the training, at least get their last words." Ratchet glanced at Bumblebee, and decided a change in topic was in order.

"What are you doing in here, anyways?" Bumblebee fell for it.

"Me and the Dinobots are playing hide and seek."

"And you came here to hide?"

Bee grinned.

"So who's seeking?"

"Him Sna- I mean, Snarl is. He's still at the far end of base, so I thought I'd see what you were doing."

Ratchet gave him a look. "Picking up your brothers speech patterns there, Bee?"

Bumblebee looked flustered. "No." Ratchet shook his head.

"Uh huh."

xXx

"You Ratchet, leaving?" Swoop's indignant squawk sounded through the corridors. Wheeljack looked up from his tinkering, already knowing what was going on. He had known that the medic would have had to leave soon. He also knew that some of the young ones would not be pleased with that. Swoop in particular had taken a shine to the tired, grumpy, but well-meaning medic.

"I can't stay forever, Swoop."

"But do you have to go?" Bumblebee stood next to his much taller brother, sharing the same look of pleading. Snarl stood in the far corner with his arms crossed and head turned away, trying to act like he didn't care. Sludge looked unsure of what to do and Grimlock was not present.

"I can't stay." Ratchet reiterated. "Not only do I have duties to attend to, but if I overstayed my time, somebody would get sent after me, and I'm sure Wheeljack's told you what would happen then."

"We be spe-separated, and not ever see him Wheeljack again, or brother Bumblebee, or other Dinobots." Sludge said quietly. Ratchet nodded.

"That's right. So I have to go back." Swoop slumped at the words, and Ratchet reached up to pat the younglings shoulder. "Come on, it's okay. I'll be back."

"Promise?" Ratchet nodded, and Swoops wings fluttered as his posture shifted to reflect his lightened mood. "We Dinobots still wish you Ratchet did not have to go."

Ratchet smiled, but it didn't reach his optics.

"Fact of life, young one- sometimes you don't get what you want."

And he turned towards the open door and left.

xXx

"You didn't come to say goodbye to Ratchet." The little yellow bots voice accused. Grimlock, in root mode, met the barbed tone with a glare.

"Me not care what him Ratchet do. Is not me Grimlocks problem."

"You liked spending time with him just as much as the rest of us- why would do you suddenly… not care?"

"If him Ratchet not care, me Grimlock not care either."

"He does so care. If you'd come to say goodbye maybe you would know why he had to go!"

"It not matter. Him Ratchet still left. You done? Me Grimlock going to find Him Wheeljack." And with that, the largest of the Dinobots turned and left, a flustered and angry Bumblebee standing in his wake.

xXx

Wheeljack watched as the shuttle landed steadily on the only flat space to offer. It wasn't the usual supply ship, nor was it Ratchet's normal shuttle. It was too large to even be a sentient ship. This was an upper echelon. Coming to check up on him.

Someone had noticed.

And they hadn't given him warning to hide the evidence either.

Bumblebee would be smart enough to hide when he told him to. The Dinobots…

The Dinobots would wonder why and stick their noses where they weren't supposed to. Like usual.

His servos trembled in despair, but maintained stillness and a façade of calm beneath his mask as he watched the doors to the ship come down.

xXx

"Ultra Magnus, please-"

"Wheeljack, they're perfectly capable bots. They'll get training, some social contact, and then go from there…"

"But I.."

"What is it Wheeljack?"

"You can't do this to them." Wheeljack pleaded. "They don't think like you and me. You can't do this." Wheeljack looked up and locked optics with Magnus. "I don't want them going into a war and not knowing what they're getting into."

"Trust me, Wheeljack. Nobody will be getting into anything less than totally prepared." Magnus offered a comforting smile to Wheeljack before turning back to his officers. The Dinobot's, to their credit, had been relatively patient, though their anxious shifting was still somewhat disruptive.

"Alright, load 'em up. Time to go." He announced. The Dinobot's seemed confused by the various mech's attempts at getting them onto the carrier, which served only to frustrate some of the more impatient of the group.

Bumblebee watched from a distance, hidden from sensors and out of optic sight. Truth be told, he was just as confused as the Dinobot's. Where were they going? Why were they taking his brothers? Even confused and anxious, Bee could see the dejected slump in Wheeljack's frame. It wasn't right, and it was all he could do to keep from jumping out and trying to stop it all. What was going on?

The Dinobot's were loaded, the carrier lifted away, and it quickly disappeared. Wheeljack didn't move, even as Bumblebee crawled out of his hiding place and came to stand beside him.

"Wheeljack…?" Bee said softly. The silence was deafening. Wheeljack quivered only slightly, wing's hung low and audio indicator's pulsing a low sad purple-blue. One hand came up and covered his optics- his head bowed.

"Oh Bumblebee.. What have I done?"

xXx

It was lonely in the complex without the Dinobots. It was always quiet, always still. There wasn't the heavy stomping of Slag, or the clumsy mishaps of Sludge. No Grimlock always poking his nose where it wasn't supposed to go. No Swoop fluttering through the underground halls. No Snarl. Nothing. Quiet. Empty. Alone.

Bumblebee shrunk into himself as he walked down the corridor. He had always been a small mechling, but never before had the rooms and halls seemed so cold and threatening.

Wheeljack had holed himself in his workstation even more then usual, though Bumblebee wasn't sure the engineer was actually doing any more work then he had before. The small bot was at a loss of what to do about it though. He didn't want to bother Wheeljack, but he didn't want the elder bot to suffer alone either.

In the meantime though, Bumblebee was very restless. He had nothing to do, and no one to play with. Ever since the first days of his creation there had always been Wheeljack and all of the Dinobots for company. He'd never been so alone. Even when he had wanted a reprieve from his ever-enthusiastic brothers he had just sat and watched Wheeljack work, or read up the near endless files on and from their home world of Cybertron. If he really wanted to be alone, or wanted to hide, he slipped into the vents.

None of that really felt right to do right now.

So Bee wandered the halls, feeling very, very alone.

xXx

"So."

The sudden and unexpected voice startled Wheeljack into dropping his tools and whirling around, less due to the unexpected nature of the voice and more due to the fact that said voice most definitely did not belong to little Bumblebee.

"I guess Magnus takin' away th' other five wasn' enough warnin' for yeh. Y' should be glad I ain't already reported to 'im." Ironhide stood highlighted in the doorway to his dimly lit workshop, holding Bumblebee by the armor plating at the base of his neck. Hanging limply, Bumblebee grinned gave a small wave to his mentor, easing the inventor's nerves only slightly.

"I-Ironhide.." Jack's vocal indicators stuttered a nervous orange-yellow, unsure of what to say. Ironhide chuckled.

"I ain't gonna report ya, 'Jak. Been talkin' with the kid here- might even hav' ta talk to Magnus 'bout those Dinobots ah yers when I get back t' Iacon." Ironhide set Bumblebee down.

"This 'un, on the other servo, needs t' learn the sayin' 'curiosity deactivated the turbo kitten.' Considerin' all the stuff I'm sure y' do in here, I'm surprised he ain't learned better yet." He cuffed Bumblebee's helm lightly, and the small yellow bot glared up at the red mech good-naturedly.

"What did he do?" Wheeljack asked, concern instantly evident in his tone and visible features. Ironhide gave a little shrug.

"Li'l fool decided my gun would be a good toy. I figured that might be a bad idea."

"No kidding." Wheeljack ran an exasperated hand over the side of his helm. "Bee-"

"I know, I know." Bumblebee cut him off. "I said I was sorry." He added sullenly.

Wheeljack sighed. Bumblebee had been somewhat sullen and hard to deal with ever since the Dinobots had been taken. He'd tried everything he could think of, but to no avail. Little Bee wasn't to the point of being 'precocious', but playing with a gun wasn't really something Wheeljack had expected from his youngest creation.

"How long are you going to be staying?" He asked Ironhide, ignoring Bumblebee's behavior for the moment. Ironhide shrugged again.

"'s long as I need to. Council didn't really set any parameters, an' once they're disbanded, chances 'r high nobody 'll remember I'm out here anyways."

Wheeljack was taken aback at the revelation. "Disbanded? But what-"

"Reckon before long I'll want ta get back int' the war effort though, so probably not too long. Few orns, at most. Like a vacation." Ironhide, ignoring Wheeljack's confusion, grinned.

Wheeljack, stunned into silence, could only stare. He had only met Ironhide a few times before this surprise visit, and though those visits matched perfectly with what he was met with now, he could not help but feel slightly overwhelmed. Ironhide, with his habit of giving tantalizing bits of information without giving the whole story, was not helping.

Or perhaps it had just been far too long since he had really talked to another full-grown bot.

xXx

"We can go outside?" Bumblebee asked excitedly. Grimlock and the Dinobots had gone outside once, and come back with little to say about it. Despite that, the prospect of seeing something new was exhilarating.

"Well, if you stay with Ironhide. And stay close! Don't give him any trouble, and no games while you're out there."

"Aaw, stop yer frettin' Jack." Ironhide said. "I won't let anything happen to him, honest."

"If you say so. Be careful, it really is dangerous out there."

"No worries."

"Get lots of work done, okay?"

"Sure I will 'Bee."

"C'mon younglin'. Let's go see outside."

"Alright!"


	3. Death

Exactly as the chapter title says. Warnings include character death. Short chapter, but the story demanded I stop there. I also apologize for the quality of this one- it was one of the first bits I wrote of this story… Which makes it roughly two years old. I fixed what I could, but you'll have to take it as is.

***Chapter 3: Death**

Like the Dinobots had said, Outside was much like inside- but dirtier, and much much bigger. The same metals made up the ground and walls around him, the same colours surrounded him, except that in many places the metal was rusted, scorched, distorted or otherwise marred. By what, Bee could not tell, but he found great amusement running from place to place, inspecting each new object, and making up stories for each strange thing he noticed. Ironhide followed at a more sedate pace, an amused grin adorning his faceplates.

Occasionally, he would pick up something and think excitedly to himself that he should bring it back to one of his brothers, only to realize that they were no longer there. He tried not to think about it though, and focused instead on the new things he had to see and discover. Sometimes he tucked an item or two into small compartments on him- just in case he ever did see his brothers again.

That's what he told himself. Just in case.

xXx

"Decepticons! Bumblebee, get down!"

Bee dove for an overhanging sheet of metal. The ancient and crumbling streets of the city provided much cover for one as small as he, though that did not help Ironhide as much, or calm the rapid overheating of Bee's systems as he panicked.

The jets strafed low as Ironhide took the center of the street, deliberately drawing their attention away from whatever glimpse of Bumblebee they may have caught. He sent a single, short message to Bumblebee.

-_Go into hiding. Get back home, but more then anything stay out of sight! I'll draw them away. See ya, kid.-_

Bumblebee watched in mute horror as Ironhide prepared to single-handedly take on three Decepticon jets and a triple changer, with more on the way.

xXx

-_Code zero Niner Alpha, Ident:D49891-C Alpha, Designation Ironhide; Request immediate assistance from any Autobots in the area, coordinates L—32High, Omega quadrant, sectors 39 through 46. Recover units Bumblebee and Wheeljack and evacuate them to Iacon immediately. They carry precious cargo, I repeat, they carry precious cargo!-_

xXx

Bumblebee ducked as shrapnel went flying over his head once more. It was utter chaos. He knew he had been trying to get back to the complex, but he couldn't hardly tell which way was up anymore, let alone which direction his home lay. Lasers, missiles, and all sorts of other weaponry went flying over his head. Survival became top priority over everything else.

His luck held out however, and his randomly chosen path led him away from the quickly escalating fight between Ironhide and the Decepticons, and he was able to sort out his thoughts enough to redirect himself towards home. He recognized a few landmarks, those sparse indicators that he had managed to spot on his way out. It was hectic, and he often worried that he might have gotten turned around, but he felt his spirits rise as the complex came into view.

Only to plummet again as he saw the state his beloved home was in.

It was a mess. The entire one side of it had been blown away, leaving a hollow bastion in its place. Bumblebee was scared. Where was Wheeljack?

Throwing himself headfirst into the wreckage, Bee searched frantically, looking for any sign of his mentor. It felt like forever before he found himself in the ruins of Jack's lab, which was still partially intact, and with it Wheeljack himself.

"Wheeljack!" Bumblebee cried, jumping over debris and crouching next to Jack's fallen form.

There wasn't much left of it really. Wheeljack had obviously been caught in the explosion, and then it looked like he had taken laser fire after that –had the con's found him?- and he looked worse for it. His right arm was reduced to little more than bare support struts down to the elbow, where it ended entirely, scorched to black. He sported more holes than Bee cared to count and both legs looked like they would have had to be replaced entirely… But the worst was his head. Scorched black, a gaping hole that looked more like a cavern sprouted from his right optic up.

At first, for a horrifying moment, he thought Wheeljack was already deactivated, but a nano's wait saw Wheeljack's remaining optic flicker and focus on Bumblebee.

".. B… Bee?.." Jack's normally cheery voice was hesitant and pained. Bumblebee nodded, trying to keep himself calm even in the face of Wheeljack's wounds.

"B-bee, lis-s-s-ten t-to me-e-eee." His voice was harsh, staticky, and glitched incessantly. "You-u have to-to f-f-f-f-f-f-find Optimus P-Prime. Giv-v-ve him th-th-this-s-s-ss.." Wheeljack struggled to move. He could tell it hurt him, but whatever Wheeljack needed to give him was important..

And Wheeljack was running out of time.

"_Head injuries happen. Usually, they're as fixable as an arm or a leg, so long as it isn't too heavily damaged.. But once they start to stutter, you have about twenty-five nanoclick's to get 'em stabilized._

_If you haven't got the tools, at least get their last words."_

Ratchets words came to him with painful clarity, and Bumblebee tried hard to focus on his creator and mentor.

Wheeljack shoved what looked like nothing more than a glowing blue bauble into his comparatively small hands.

"Get it t-t-t-o him-m-m! T-t-t-tell n-no one y-you have it! D-do you u-u-understand?" Wheeljack's voice was becoming faint, and though Bumblebee wasn't sure why he had to do it, the instructions were pretty clear. He nodded.

Wheeljack's remaining vocal indicator glowed a dim, but happy blue, matching the weak smile on the visible portion of his face. He opened his mouth to speak again, but the time was gone, and his systems began to shut down.

"…'ish-sh.. d-d-d…fere'…lve-ev-e.." Bumblebee shuddered and suppressed a high-pitched keen. The words were little more then garbled static and no matter how much he wanted to, Bumblebee would never be able to make out those last words. He did have one thing though. He had been given his mission, and for Wheeljack, he would do it.

He would not let his mentor and friend be anything less than proud of him.


	4. Allies

Chapter 4: Allies

-…_D49891-C Alpha, Designation Ironhide; Request immediate assistance from any Autobots in the area, coordinates L—32High, Omega quadrant…-_

A figure, alone, stood at the console of a ship, orbiting the planet. There was no light, save for the glow from the consoles, but there did not need to be.

"I don't like it. Something's off- why would there be a high ranking officer all the way out here?"

The sudden voice did not come from the lone figure.

"Why indeed?" Replied the figure, smiling as if at some secret joke. "Set a course."

"You're not serious."

"I am."

The bodiless voice cursed. The figure patted the console before him comfortingly.

"I know, Diver, but if that is 'Hide down there, I don't want ta go back and say I didn't take the chance."

There was no verbal reply, but the craft made a sudden, fluid movement towards the surface of the planet.

xXx

Bumblebee ran.

He couldn't be entirely sure why, though he had an inkling. There were Decepticons here. That much was obvious. It was they who had attacked Ironhide, and it was almost guaranteed that they were the ones who had killed Wheeljack.

Bumblebee cringed at the thought, but continued to run. Bumblebee couldn't let grief set in yet, but he knew he already dearly missed and craved his creators comforting presence.

He ran down an ally and paused for a short rest. Cursing his youngling body he sucked air greedily through his intakes, cooling his quickly overheating systems. He had no weapons, he couldn't transform, and the only armor he had was not in the least suited to battlefield conditions. If he had been upgraded he wouldn't be having this problem!

Bee groaned as he thought of Wheeljack again. Jack had been working on his upgrade not long before the attack. He wondered briefly how long it would be now until he got a fully functional body.

Systems sufficiently cooled, Bee started thinking about what he should do. He could keep running, but what help would that be? His mission was to find Optimus Prime. Problem? He knew very well that Prime was nowhere near Altihex. He needed off world.

He groaned to himself. The only spaceport on Altihex –so far as he knew from his teachings- was so far away it was pointless. Not only that, but it was crawling with space-pirates and other nasty scum. There were reasons that Wheeljack had sealed both himself and his creations inside the complex.

Deciding that although he had nowhere to go, Bee decided that it was best not to stay in one place. Who knew how many Decepticons were out there, and how many might be searching for him. He turned around, prepared to continue moving, only to slam into what felt like a very uneven wall.

Falling to the ground Bee managed a glimpse of someone's armor.

"Hey-"

Bee panicked. Scrambling to his feet he ran the way he came, ignoring the voice calling out to him. He wasn't sure who it was, but it didn't matter. Wheeljack, Ironhide and Ratchet were the only Autobots he knew, and whoever it was hadn't been any of them.

For a moment, he thought he might have outrun the other bot, but his hopes were quickly dashed as he ran into him yet again. Literally. _Again._

"Hey there. Pretty slick moves for a sparklin'."

One hand scrabbled for purchase, while the other nursed the quickly growing dent on his brow, he ran once more. Part of him wondered why the 'con hadn't just shot him yet, but he chose not to look a gift drone in the weapons array and pushed it from his mind.

Bee couldn't hear the 'con chasing after him, but that didn't mean much. He had gotten in front of Bee before, without him noticing at all. Bee wasn't sure what he was doing, but he ran anyways. He couldn't let Wheeljack down, especially so soon!

His thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as he found himself at the end of the road and a drop more than high enough to terminate an unarmored youngling- With no time to stop his own momentum.

He tried to stop anyways, though it was to no avail as he slipped over the edge of the precipice and into the air. He yelled frantically.

"Diver! Catch 'im!"

Another moment after that found Bumblebee with a less than soft landing into a giant hand. Bee shuddered; nursing several prominent new dents and trying to calm himself from the panicked high he'd found himself on, he looked up at what had caught him.

A shuttle carrier, if size was anything to go by. She looked down at the shaken youngling and her face twitched in annoyance.

"Nice catch!" The voice complimented, and the shuttle snorted in contempt at the grateful shout.

"Well I certainly seem to get enough practice." The voice said sourly. There was a chuckle in response before the first voice replied in turn.

"Alright Diver. No need to scare the little guy more. Put 'im down." Bee wasn't sure what he should do. The shuttle bore no insignia's of allegiance, but she didn't look very nice, and his mind had assumed the other to be a con, though his voice sounded perfectly friendly.

He didn't have much choice in the matter. He was dumped, rather unceremoniously, onto the ground. Struggling to keep himself from having a panic attack he utilized the best defense he had at that moment.

He curled into a ball and whimpered.

It wasn't the most flattering of moves, and it was hardly the most heroic, but he was exhausted, out of ideas, and for all accounts and purposes, effectively surrounded.

"Aw, come on now. We ain't gonna hurt ya, though ye sure gave me a run for my energon chips back there. I'm an Autobot. Y' don't need to be afraid." The larger bot coaxed. Bee looked up hesitantly, affirming that the other bot indeed wore the Autobot insignia before uncurling entirely. The Autobot knelt in front of the youngling and offered a warm smile.

"The name's Jazz. What's yours?"

"Bumblebee."

xXx

"Y' sure this is where y' left Ironhide?" Jazz asked. Bumblebee nodded mutely. This was definitely where the Decepticons had attacked him and Ironhide. So far he and Jazz had been covert, in case there were more con's lurking in the area. Cloudiver, far to big to do anything remotely covert, was at a distance. Bumblebee wasn't sure where, but he didn't particularly care, being far more worried about Ironhide.

"Well, they definitely ain't here now," Jazz mused quietly to himself, "And this whole planet's almost too dilapidated t' follow any sort a' trail o' destruction."

Jazz looked around again and gestured with a hand. "This way kid, and stay low."

Bumblebee, still more used to using his skills for games and not active survival techniques, felt clumsy and loud next to the saboteur, who moved with a stealthy grace Bee was sure he could never match- even with a lifetime of practice.

Despite that the elder bot was nothing but encouraging, giving him many helpful tips and corrections and praise when Jazz though it was safe enough to do so.

As far as Jazz was concerned however, it was a perfect training ground for the little mech who suddenly was very much a target and needed to learn to survive. It was _unlikely_ for there to be any cons around at this point, but the threat was just real enough for both of them to treat it seriously.

It was nearly a full cycle before Jazz let his frame slump in defeat. Their energy levels were low, and Bumblebee's cargo was too important to delay any longer, especially if the con's knew it was here and Jazz was fairly sure they did, why else attack this desolate outpost of a formerly thriving colony?

Breaking the news to his companion was another matter.

"What about Ironhide?" Bumblebee asked angrily, his small hands clenched into fists. "We can't leave him!"

"We have to." Jazz replied somberly. "What you got is too important for us to put in danger like that, and there'll be another search team coming- we were just the closest." _He may also have been captured, and if that's the case we're just wasting time_, he thought grimly, but left it unsaid. No need to burden the youngling further.

"How do you know about that?" Bumblebee turned away from the sabateour defensively. Jazz opened his posture and lowered his tone, doing his best to keep the youngling calm.

"We intercepted a message from Ironhide. If he thinks what you got is important, then it's important. No questions." Jazz was also a high ranking officer that also happen to be excellent at reading between the lines. He'd figured out long ago what Wheeljack was up to out here, and it wasn't so far a stretch into the hands of little Bumblebee, especially after all that seemed to have transpired here.

Bumblebee stared at the ground, apparently at a loss. Jazz gave him a smile.

"But we gotta go. The longer we stay, the more danger we put both you and your item in."

Bumblebee wasn't sure what to do. Everything in him wanted to keep looking for Ironhide, but- the key was important, and if what Jazz said was true…

"Okay." He said so quietly, Jazz nearly missed it. "Okay, but only if you're sure."

xXx

Having never been outside his home, let alone in a shuttle before, Bee had found the experience odd, and a little exciting. Despite everything had happened, and likely was going to happen, he gave himself a moment to relax, and just stare out into the void of space mesmerized. For the first hour or two, it was relatively quiet. Relatively. Jazz hummed to himself, and occasionally Cloudiver would grumble to him about something or other, but other than that the contrast was astounding.

"Nice out there, ain't it?" Jazz ambled up to him. There wasn't exactly a great deal of room, but it was tolerable, and there was space enough to require walking to go from one side to the other. Bee nodded.

"It's very different." He said. He hadn't meant to, but he let his voice waver, and Jazz noticed.

"Hey now. It'll be okay. Won't be a tick till we get to Iacon and we can find somewhere for you to go, maybe get your final upgrade." Be winced and closed his mouth tightly, thinking immediately of Wheeljack. A low whine cane from his mid torso as a sort of stifled sob.

Jazz, not having meant to upset the youngling knelt next to him.

"Hey now, you gonna make it all right?" Bee started to nod stiffly, only to stop entirely on the grounds that it would be an awful and horribly obvious lie. The day's events were catching up to him, and there was only so much a youngling with hardly any world-experience could take.

"Wh…" Bee tried to stifle the whine he was emanating, only to have it increase in pitch. "Wheeljack's… and Ironhide…" He couldn't seem to find it in himself to finish the sentence, though the look on Jazz's face told him he was being understood perfectly.

xXx

Bumblebee crouched in a corner of the shuttle, lost in thought. It had been a long and trying few cycles, and after finally coming down from the excitement, little Bee was started to really process what had happened to him. It wasn't an instantaneous procedure, and after a while, his brain-pan seemed to have decided to take a break. Right now he simply watched the mostly quiet interior of the shuttle.

Indicators flashed a warning yellow in his view- cautioning him that he would need to recharge soon, and probably require a small cube of energon as soon as he was done. He stifled a yawn.

Jazz sat in the chair at the 'helm', though he wasn't piloting. Currently his chair was leaned back and his pedes were propped up on the dash. His head bobbed to a rhythm only he could hear. The offer had been made to put the music over open air, but both Bumblebee and Cloudiver had declined; Bumblebee slightly more politely.

It was odd; the yellow mech thought through his muzzy processor, that Jazz was so small. Indeed, Jazz was perhaps only slightly larger than twice Bumblebee's height. Up until that point, 'Bee had never met a mech smaller than three times his size. Even the smallest of the Dinobots and his next eldest brother, Swoop, was easily four and half times his size. Bumblebee was used to being small, to see that Jazz was not was… comforting, and inspiring in a way. He had not known Jazz for long, but he definitely seemed the sort of mech Bumblebee could look up to.

When- if they survived, Bumblebee promised himself he would spend as much time as he could with the friendly Autobot. After all, he thought as he slipped into recharge, Jazz was pretty much the only person he knew anymore.

xXx

"Jazz." The shuttle called. Jazz stood from where he had been checking on the now recharging youngling and walked up to the main console.

"'Sup, Diver?" Maps popped up on the screens, charting out their course, planetary rotations and other relevant data.

"We have a problem." Diver said. "If we go the way we planned, we're on a direct course for Kaon- the Con's'll see us. There's no way they'll just let us pass on by, but going around will triple our travel time, and I know how insistent you are about this getting to Iacon as fast as possible."

Jazz sat back in the chair thoughtfully.

"We'll compromise. If we stick to about the same course, but just skirt the outer perimeter of their scanners, they might decide we're too far out to be worth the trouble."

He could practically hear the shuttle frown at that.

"That's a huge risk to be taking Jazz."

Jazz smiled. "Like you got any right to be lecturin' me 'bout risk. I trust ya, Diver. We'll get through."

The shuttle shifted doubtfully. "Alright Jazz. Better hope this works."


	5. When One is Lost

This one ended up being more about Cloudiver and Jazz than it did Bee. In my defense, Bee's part is just about over, and there's still quite a bit going on with Jazz and Diver. There is actually stuff going on that I should have found a way to put in but didn't because it was seriously distracting from Bumblebee- who, y'know, is supposed to be the main character and all.

And as usual, Cloudiver is an angry, angry shuttle. Skyfire's just trying to help. Honest.

* **Chapter 5: When One Is Lost…**

The shuttle shuddered suddenly and unexpectedly. Not a moment later Cloudiver's voice reverberated throughout the small interior, sounding almost panicked, were that possible for the indomitable shuttle.

"Con's! They've taken out one of my engines. We're not going anywhere fast unless we can patch it." For the first time since meeting her Bumblebee heard her sound anxious. For the second time in as many cycles, Bee found himself in a bad situation he had no control over. Jazz was suddenly all business and he stalked the two steps up to a consol.

"Damage report." He requested shortly. The reply was instantaneous as a screen flashed to life, giving visual representation of their woes. Most of it went over the youngling's head.

"In short, we have half our normal forward thrust, and no way to maneuver. We can't even do a short distance hop. Something needs to get fixed, and I don't particularly care which." Jazz was already heading for the hatch, determination set on his visored countenance.

"We'll start with forward movement." He said. "Then maneuverability. Short distance hops aren't useful unless there's a handy asteroid belt to hide in, so we'll leave it. How close are the Cons?" The hatch slid shut behind him, leaving him clinging to the outside of the hull, and making his way towards the damaged areas. It was risky to try and pull off an in-flight repair job, at high speeds, with Decepticons closing in, but it couldn't be helped. It was a risky repair job, or certain capture and/or evisceration by a gang of likely angry Decepticons.

"ETA of way less than I would like. Work fast." Though Jazz was outside the ship, and 'Diver talking to him through comm., their voices were projected on the interior of the ship as well. Bumblebee didn't know whether this was for his own convenience or not, but supposed it didn't matter. He was much too worried to care anyways.

"Give me numbers 'Diver. Oh, and this might tickle." A moment later there was a shriek of surprised pain, and Bumblebee could only imagine the glares that Cloudiver was metaphorically throwing at Jazz. Bee surmised that the other mech must have had to remove something to get at the damaged parts.

"And this is why you're not a qualified medic." Cloudiver ground out. "And as for the Cons, if you look over your left shoulder strut, you'll see a lovely array of green, purple and a hint of red. Estimate your own time." Her voice was almost literally dripping with sarcasm, and several moments of silence followed it.

"…Oh."

"That's what I thought."

"Guess I better work fast then."

"Gee, imagine that."

"Alright already. I'm nearly done with your thrusters. Long range shot obviously, probably a lucky one too. Damage isn't severe. Just enough to knock it all offline."

"I _know_ that, Jazz."

"Now now, don't get snippy."

"I will get as _snippy_ as I Pit well please!"

Bumblebee had the distinct impression that Cloudiver must be very worried, for her to snap at Jazz. More silence followed this remark, though it wasn't from offence on any body's part. More likely it was the increasing apprehension at having so many Cons getting ever closer, some of which who were cocky enough to waste energy on a few shots. All of which missed, but were still an ever-growing danger.

"Hurry up, Jazz." Cloudiver raked out. If her apprehension at first was not palpable, it most certainly was now. If anything, she sounded downright scared, though not for her own safety.

"I'm hurry'en…" Came the distracted reply. Had he encountered problems that were monopolizing his attention, drawing it away from the looming Decepticon threat? Bumblebee could only guess. An increasing amount of laser fire sped past the one frontal window, obviously growing ever closer. Even Bumblebee could tell from his woefully limited vantage point. If Jazz was hit out there… If he began to fall out into the depths of space, there would be no way to get to him in time, certainly not before the Decepticons.

"Hurry faster then!" Cloudiver snapped. "If you're not inside by the time I've counted to five I will find a way to make you do it myself."

"'M not finished-"

"The slag you are!" Cloudiver interrupted brutally. "I don't need maneuverability right now, I need speed, and I can't do that with you sitting on my thrusters!"

"Just ano-" Jazz' retort was lost as laser fire peppered the hull and the entire shuttle shuddered. Bumblebee had to tone down his audio input as Cloudiver's yell tore through the cabin.

"_Jazz!_"

"Go!" Was the command. Jazz was functional, but it didn't really matter. They could neither reach him now nor turn back for him. Bumblebee felt that suddenly all too familiar stab of grief. If what he carried weren't so important, it wouldn't take so much as a second thought to go rushing back to save him. But it was, and a silent Bee stared with wide optics at nothing.

"But-" Cloudiver tried to protest.

"I said go, Cloudiver!" Bee felt the shuttle flinch around him at the use of her full name. "GO!"

The shuttle shuddered in something of a stifled gasp, and a feeling of inertia took over before settling quickly. In only a moment they had left the Decepticons beyond the range of even the most sophisticated scanners. They were safe.

But they had left Jazz.

They had condemned him to a fate almost assuredly worse than death. Bee felt that internal keen rise up again, though he struggled not to. He had only known Jazz for a bare few cycles, what right did he have to show more grief than Cloudiver, who had known Jazz for eons?

His answer came as the barely perceptible trembling on the part of the shuttle. He was safe inside the shuttle still, but though it could not be heard inside the cabin, he knew she was screaming all her rage and sorrow out into the cold and silent void of space.

xXx

Skyraider looked down at the pathetic lump of metal and wires. Barely online and not at all conscious, he was supposedly their bargaining chip. Not just with the Autobots either. This one was a high-ranking officer, which many of the troops were hoping would earn them points with high command. It didn't matter much to him, however. He had only his own designs at the moment.

The observation room sat empty, by his own doing of course. It had been his shift, and he had made all the necessary preparations beforehand. Some skilled camera loops, a high-quality hologram, and of course the scapegoat.

He'd never liked Blowout anyways.

His Decepticon sensibilities took issue with his current machinations, but he had his own plans in mind. He cringed as he took the unresponsive Jazz from his cell and replaced him with a well-situated hologram. He almost reconsidered as he finally loaded the slowly onlining Jazz into the escape shuttle. Jazz looked at him almost incomprehensively.

"Wh.. Why?" The words fizzled ominously. His vocaliser had probably been damaged along with the rest of him.

"Tell Cloudiver I have repaid my dept in full." He replied coldly, and closed Jazz inside the pod.

xXx

The shuttle came to a halt on the long, wide landing pad only a few kliks from what had to be Autobot headquarters. The doors opened and Bumblebee stood there, momentarily at a complete loss of what to do next.

"Out." Was Cloudiver's sole command. Startled into motion, Bumblebee scrambled out of the irritable shuttle and onto the wide expanse of the landing pad. Cloudiver did not transform, choosing to stay in alt mode until at least Bumblebee was gone. There were hardly any shuttles left anymore, and the large expanses of tarmac were bare. She didn't want to be around anyone right now anyways- chances were high she would seriously hurt somebody, and Jazz wouldn't approve.

Bumblebee stared up at her, as though looking for direction. She growled.

"I got you here. That's all I was supposed to do. Now scram." The little yellow bot scrammed. She watched as he finally disappeared across the wide, reinforced stretch of the tarmac and into regular Autobot territory. She transformed.

_It's not like I could have followed him anyways_. She thought to herself, mostly to push away that nagging little voice that sounded so much like Jazz.

And she couldn't. Shuttles were just too big to use the facilities most average sized transformers could- even the ground was sometimes not up to dealing with the weight. Shuttles had the tarmac. And that was that.

It wasn't always that way, though she tried not to think about it. She tried not to think about the world she had grown up on- now a derelict mess barely capable of supporting the most basic of scrapmetals-, and the brother she had grown up with –who had betrayed her and their world in favour of some lunatic with delusions of power.

She tried not to think about it.

She wished she had something else to think about. Normally, there was Jazz.

Jazz was gone.

And for some reason, that hurt even worse.

xXx

"Cloudiver."

For a moment, Diver jerked, obviously deep in her own thoughts and not at all expecting to be addressed. She turned to her assailant with a moment's surprise that quickly dissipated.

"Oh. It's you." She returned to her original pose in such a way that –to any person that did not know her- would have implied deliberate ignorance. Perhaps it was.

"I heard about Jazz." Skyfire ventured to take a seat, but remained standing as Cloudiver snarled her displeasure, though whether it was that or his comment was unsure.

"Yeah. So what?" Her tone clearly did not indicate 'so what?' but Skyfire persevered.

"I wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help." She veritably raged at this, and gave an angry, frustrated yell.

"You? _You?_ You think you can help me? You don't know anything! You're a worthless, condescending, traitorous.. Useless… pacifistic…" Her rage dissipated as quickly as it came, and she slumped from the standing position she had somehow gotten into and fell heavily to the ground. Skyfire knelt next to her, and for a moment, she couldn't remember why she hated him so much. Her wings quivered audibly, and a stifled sob escaped her.

"I know it hurts." He said simply. She felt nothing, even as she remembered why she hated him. Her life was gone. She'd had no idea how much she had relied on Jazz to be there for her.

".. Space… Space-faring.. Is dangerous.. To those without flight modes." She said finally, and softly. Skyfire looked on in sympathy, and her wings continued to quiver.

"But that doesn't make it hurt any less, does it?" He replied.

She made no reply, but slowly felt her rage return, though only a fraction of what it had been. She scowled, stood up and pushed him away. She stalked to the far side of the shuttle pad and remained there, both quietly thankful and righteously angry that he hadn't followed.

She wished Jazz were here so she wouldn't have to be angry anymore.

Skyfire remained were he was, sitting on the sturdy, flat metal. Facing away from him, she could only guess as to what he was thinking, but she didn't particularly care. She loathed him. Despised him for everything that made him who he was. Reviled him for being everything she wasn't. He was strong, kindhearted, compassionate, and deeply empathic. He had gone through every hardship she had and more, yet remained a perfectly wonderful, sympathetic being.

She couldn't. She'd been changed, let herself be changed and turned towards bitterness and unhappiness. Somewhere along the line, she'd lost who she was to war and the singular pursuit of her brother, and Skyfire represented all the strength she didn't have.

And she hated him being that strength.

xXx

After departing from a surly and bereaved Cloudiver, Bumblebee managed to gain directions to the main complex, which was at this moment, housing some of the most powerful mechs and femme's in the Autobot army. His small size and strange build earned him some looks, and Bee quickly learned to stay out of sight. Without access to Vector Sigma, Sparklings had become nearly unheard of, as the last younglings upgraded to their final forms. The other mechs assumed he was a spy, or other sort of special ops as long as they didn't look to closely.

Finding that there was no entrance allowed into the complex (security was high), Bumblebee was at a loss of what to do next. He couldn't ask for audience- he wasn't even supposed to exist. He couldn't break in, he would either be shot at, or brought in for questioning, neither of which would assist him in seeing Prime.

His optics played over a set of well-hidden ventilation shafts, and a grin split his face.

It was a trick he had used often back home on Wheeljack. Due to regular bouts of exploding science projects, there were all sorts of ventilation shafts crisscrossing the walls, in order to air out any possibly harmful or corrosive fumes quickly and easily. Bee, curious and new to the world, had found them a wonderful place to explore, and later on to hide in. Due to his size he easily fit in such shafts, but only barely. Anyone bigger wouldn't fit at all, and there were very few transformers that stayed the size of a sparkling after upgrading.

xXx

Jazz was bored.

"Is that everythin' now?" He sighed impatiently. After being awoken from stasis Jazz had suffered through question after question after question (how long were you there? Did the Con's learn anything important? Did you manage to get any information on them? Was Shockwave there? Was _Soundwave_ there? Etc etc ad infinitum) and the inanity was beginning to bother him. He was only repaired enough to function –and thus, answer questions- and would have very much liked to have a set of working legs again.

Prowl, standing nearby, nodded once.

"I believe it is, everything of any importance anyways."

"Good. Now go tell 'Diver I'm awake."

Silence.

Only getting a questioning stare, and Jazz put his helm into his one working hand.

"No one told her I was okay, did they?"

"No. I wasn't aware she was even here." Prowl did not know Cloudiver personally, but had known Jazz long enough to know of her- though the two hadn't spoken much since the war had swung in full.

"Well y' better go tell her before she goes on a rampage. Yer lucky she hasn't already."

"I'm not sure if you're being serious. I'd heard about her temperament, but is it really that bad?"

"Oh man. I should tell you a few stories when y' get back, but first y' need to go tell 'er I'm here. Gently. An' don't let 'er know you didn't tell her first thing."

"Me?" Prowl had intended to call someone near to the tarmac and let them do it. Apparently Jazz had other ideas.

"Yeah you. Be a great way for you two tah meet first time."

Prowl sighed. He knew Jazz would do everything in his power to get his way- though why was a question that would never be answered. It was probably just easier to go along with it.

"Fine. I'll go immediately if you like."

"Sure. Don't get stepped on."

Prowl paused.

"… I don't suppose you have any recommendations of how to deal with your charming companion?"

"Dealing with her is a bit of a learned art, but she might try really hard at ignoring you." Prowl huffed in impatience and slight frustration.

"And what should I do if that's the case?"

"Well, our first meeting had similar circumstances. You could try what I did." Jazz grinned cheekily, hinting at something to come. Prowl looked at him warily.

"And what, pray tell, did you do?"

"Jumped off one o' the towers in Polyhex." Prowl did not bother processing that comment in full, knowing the sheer insanity of it might just crash his processors. A fall from half that height would deactivate a bot with ease, let alone the full height. Prowl was probably lucky he was friends with an alive, mostly intact Jazz, rather than a scrap-metal, waste parts one.

Probably.

"Jazz, you are the oddest mech I have ever had the dubious pleasure of knowing."

"Why thank you. I'd say th' same t' you, but yer a little too ramrod straight for that."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"My pleasure."


	6. Journey's End

Another short one- my apologies. Next update (one chapter and an epilogue to go) will be soon because I'd like to try and get all this up before going on vacation. Will start working on sidestories and other unanswered questions after that.

Chapter 6: Journey's End

"You are… Shuttle carrier 4109-Delta 4, designation Cloudiver?" For all she could have stepped on the little slip of a bot, he held his composure amazingly well. There were few who could look directly into the angry glare of the shuttle and not flinch.

Jazz was one of them.

Apparently this bot was another.

"I am." She replied shortly. She wondered who cared about a factionless shuttle in the middle of the war beyond whose provisions she was consuming. She restrained a bitter laugh. That's probably why he was here. To kick her out before she could use up too much of their precious supplies.

She growled at him. He still did not flinch.

"You were informally partnered with Autobot Saboteur Jazz for in excess of ten thousand deca-cycles, correct?" The bots tone was clipped and formal. She suddenly had a feeling that this bot was fairly high up in the chain of command- though she did not particularly care beyond wondering why they would send anything other then a grunt to talk to/evict her.

"Yes." So this was about Jazz. Her rage multiplied at the mention of the recent loss, as well as the urge to step on the arrogant prick of an Autobot. Her shock at his next words was palpable.

"We've found him. He's in the repair bay now."

xXx

Alarms sounded, lights flashed, and an open channel repeatedly announced that there were intruders in the facility. Bumblebee was well aware of all this- it was he that had caused it.

He hadn't meant to, of course. He didn't think there would be sensor nets in the ventilation- apparently the Autobots were a lot more cautious then he had given them credit for.

_-intruder on base, all personnel please assume Delta procedure and positioning. Repeat, Warning: There is an intruder in the ventilation shafts near corridor C, lower deck. All personnel please assume…_

Crawling as fast as he could, Bee tried to get out of the general area, combating the rising panic. He was lost, had no way out, and even if the bot that caught him didn't try to, it wouldn't take much for a mech to accidentally crush him. Especially since they thought they were dealing with the armed and dangerous.

A shot ripped open the thin metal in front of him, eliciting a startled cry. He was definitely panicking now, his thought processes no more complex then 'I don't want to die, please don't kill me, I don't I don't Oh Wheeljack Idon'twanttodie…'

"Ha! We got the slagger now!" Came a voice from below. Another shot sliced through the duct walls, this time going through the lower half of Bee's leg.

His cry was of pain now, and he tried to curl up to reach the wound but was unable to due to the confined space. A full-fledged Transformer would hardly have even felt such a wound, but heightened sensitivities when young taught the sparklings not to hurt themselves, and what and how much they could take before they had to get repairs. Unfortunately, none of this helped Bumblebee at the moment, and alerted his pursuers to him even more so.

"Listen t' that! Musta been a good shot."

Nothing could have been further from the truth, though this might have bought Bumblebee some time. If they thought he was incapacitated, maybe they would stop shooting and instead pull him out of the narrow shafts.. He whimpered again as the torn edges of his leg scraped against the metal walls. There was a commotion below as bots began opening up the shaft from under him in order to get him out.

Moments later the 'floor' disappeared from underneath him and Bee fell to the ground gracelessly. He cried out again as he hit his leg and in another moment was physically secured by another bot. There were bot's all around him, at least a half-dozen, if not more. The bot holding him held him tightly, forming new dents all the way around his torso, and one arm- that was bent awkwardly- threatened to buckle altogether.

"By Primus-"

"Put down yer guns!"

"It's a sparkling!"

Bumblebee, who had been dropped in surprise, subconsciously decided that he would skip all the introductions and wake up later, preferably when he was fully repaired.

xXx

"So you are Bumblebee." Bee looked up at the large form standing above and in front if him. The little one nodded nervously.

"I've heard some about you, though probably not nearly enough."

"F.. From who, sir?" Bumblebee stuttered. He had come a long ways in search of Optimus Prime, but actually being before the Autobot commander was intimidating.

"We received a last transmission from Ironhide, though he couldn't tell us much before he was cut short."

"Is Ironhide-"

Optimus shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry. When teams were sent to retrieve him and the others, they found only his body."

Bumblebee sobbed.

Optimus lay a hand on the small bot's back. "I am very sorry, young one." He said quietly.

xXx

"_Tell Cloudiver my debt is repaid in full_."

That was what he had said.

She could kill him.

He saved Jazz.

Now there was nothing between either of them.

And there never would be again.

Ever.

xXx

Gasps filtered through the room as Bumblebee presented the smallish blue orb Wheeljack had given him to Optimus Prime.

"Wheeljack told me to give it to you sir."

"Thank you, Bumblebee. This means a great deal to us all."

"What is it?"

"The key to Vector Sigma."


	7. End

The End, guys! This was two separate chapters, but I'm going on vacation tomorrow and won't be back for a few weeks. So I did some hurried editing. I will start working on sidestories as soon as I get back. There are several hundred unanswered questions here after all. The biggest one being Diver and Raider… Bust guess who are the only one's who haven't told me their back story yet?

Six sidestories in the works, plus one part way written. But if you've been following me for any amount of time you probably know better than to expect anything right away. But I shall try.

Chapter 7: Cloudiver

"I'm going after Skyraider." She said solemnly. Jazz looked up from where he was perched on her knee.

"Aren't you always?" He didn't grin. He knew how touchy she was when it came to her estranged family.

"I know where he is this time- for sure. He's agreed to meet me."

"Gotta be a trap." Jazz frowned. There was nothing else it could be.

"I'm going."

"Y' sure?" He wished he could think of something to talk her out of it.

"And you're not coming with me Jazz." Visibly taken aback, Jazz attempted to dissuade her.

"But Diver, goin' inta the heart of Con territory alone-"

"I know."

"I'm comin' with ya." He insisted, leaping gracefully from her leg to the ground despite his still present injuries.

"No, you're not. You shouldn't even be out of the repair bay." She glared at him, but he deflected the statement.

"I'm fine!"

"You're hardly standing!"

"I'm comin' with y' 'Diver!"

"You're _not_ coming with me! I don't need you, and I don't need you there to hold my hand!"

"Is that what y' think this is? Why aren't I allowed to honestly worry 'bout you?"

"Me? _Me_? Why should anyone worry about me? You can't possibly!"

"I-"

"Face it Jazz, no one cares. Your leaders don't care, the Autobots don't care, _you_ don't care-" Her engine's stuttered slightly, barely noticeable, but her speech continued with hardly a pause. "The only one who does care is Skyfire, but that's only because he's a useless soft-sparked pacifist that would coddle Megatron himself if given the chance!"

There was a short pause as Jazz processed her words, open mouthed.

Finally, he said

"That hurts, 'Diver, that y' think o' me like that."

"Well then why don't you go cry to your stick-up-the-aft Prowler or whatever his name is since your such great buddies." She snarled.

She watched as his normally open face fell into a blank, expressionless mask- one she'd seen many a time before. Without another word he turned and left. That was the straw, she thought.

If she came back, this argument would hurt them both.

She didn't expect to come back.

But more importantly, he wouldn't follow her.

xXx

'This was stupid.'

It was also funny. She had kind of thought her last thoughts would be a little more eloquent than that, but really, she supposed she should have known better.

Jazz had been right, of course. Skyraider had met her; along with three squads of ariel backup at his beck and call. Her thrice bedamned brother had risen up the ranks since she'd last seen him, and now the odds were stacked against her. Heavily.

She had always been able to cut a swath of destruction wherever it suited her, usually and especially if it was straight through 'Con ranks, but those times there were usually other things happening at the same time, causing distraction and chaos. Now it was just her and an overwhelming number of seekers. There was no way she was getting out of this alive.

Which was fine really, she consoled herself. As long as Skyraider went down with her.

So she threw herself into the fray, ignoring the barbed energy shots that lanced towards her, crushing, stomping and throwing aside every Con that stood between her and her brother.

But it was a tactic that could only last so long- even with her sheer size and firepower; there was something to be said for the overwhelming weight of numbers and their authority.

It wasn't long before she could barely stand. Her torso was dented, scorched, marked with dozens of laser-fire holes. One wing was gone entirely, and another was bent at an awkward and probably painful angle. The other two were scratched and burned like most of the rest of her, but less so due to their smaller size. Her left forearm hung loosely, and her legs buckled treacherously.

She couldn't transform, couldn't fly, and could barely walk. The world around her tilted dangerously.

"'Diver!"

The voice was faint, far away. She didn't quite hear it at first, drowned as she was in injury and pain. She was a mess, but she wouldn't stop, couldn't give in. It just wasn't in her nature.

"'Diver!" The call came again, this time jolting her blurry vision and dulled hearing into a semblance of clarity. She knew that voice, one that brought her both great warmth, and great fear.

It was Jazz.

For a moment he seemed to become a sort of frozen tableau on the horizon, and the next he stood below her, fending off the Cons as she tried to stay upright. Her subconscious wondered at the odd shift in time, but discarded it. Jazz was in trouble. She had decimated their forces, but there was still more than enough to be a problem. The Decepticons, believing the fully functional Autobot to be more of an annoyance than the huge but barely standing shuttle, focused their aim on him and spared Cloudiver for a moment. Jazz ducked behind an outcropping metal tile, and shot Cloudiver a grin.

"J-Jazz. What- w-why…?" She couldn't speak properly. Her self-analysis was also shot, so she couldn't tell if her vocaliser was damaged, or if she was just running that low on fuel.

"You didn't think I'd believe that, did ya? The 'not carin' spiel?" Jazz returned a few shots to the cons before ducking away again. "Trust me, Diver, it ain't nothin' I haven't heard before. I also know a deactivation run when I see one. An' friends don' let friends do death runs."

She would have cried if she could spare the energon. As it was, she was sure she must be running on fumes if she was that ready to break down in front of Jazz, and in the middle of a war zone. She shook her head slowly, trying to clear it.

"You're going to die." Her voice cracked a little. This was exactly what she had been trying to avoid. "We're both going to die. Why couldn't you have just stayed away?"

He offered a consoling smile.

"We ain't gonna die, 'Diver. We just gotta survive the next ten minutes. The cavalry's comin'."

"The cavalry?"

He smirked. "You didn't think I came alone, did you?"

xXx

"So you're Cloudiver."

"And you must be Prowl."

"So are you going to explain why, exactly you thought it was a good idea to go after a moderately high-ranking Decepticon by yourself knowing it was a trap?"

"No."

"Prowl, 'Diver, play nice."

*** Chapter 8: Epilogue**

Bumblebee lay on the comparatively huge berth in silence. While the small mechling had never been at odds with silence, there seemed to be far too much of it lately. The local medic (not Ratchet, though he had apparently trained under him) had warned off most visitors and physically ousted the rest. It seemed like the only bot allowed to even see him as he was healing was Prime- who was, of course, Prime, and thus very busy.

There was a chime at the door, and Bumblebee sat up warily. The medic had been very insistent that Bumblebee be cautious with his injuries until all the patches had fully taken.

"Come in." He called. Sure enough, it was Optimus, looking as unruffled and regal as ever- though Bumblebee could swear there was a slight amusement to his optics that had not been there previously.

"Bumblebee." He greeted with a nod of his head. "I have a surprise for you."

The youngling sat up fully at that. "What is it?" He asked, both excited for and wary of the answer- he'd had far too many surprises already the past few cycles.

He listened then, and there were muffled voices from just beyond Prime.

"You Swoop stop shoving!"

"Me Swoop not shoving- you Grimlock clumsy."

"Me Grimlock much more better walker than you. Me e- el- _elegant_."

"Ha! You Grimlock liar."

"You Slag picking fight?"

Optimus Prime made a gesture to the mechs Bumblebee almost dared not hope it could be. He swung his legs over the bed in anticipation, almost scared that he was only dreaming.

He was not, and a moment later all five of his brothers were traipsing through the doorway, and then were stuck there, as Grimlock froze halfway through.

"Look, it him Bumblebee!" Swoop cried out in joy. Snarl, at the very back, tried to push his way through the crowded doorway so he could see and only partially succeeded. Grimlock, coming to his senses, let out his own whoop before taking three strides to the side of the berth and enveloping Bumblebee in a hug, soon joined by their other brothers as they entered the rapidly shrinking room.

Optimus waited by the doorway, the smile tugging at his lips hidden by a battle mask.


End file.
